Spire Center in Plymouth hopes to become a South Shore destination

Saturday

Apr 5, 2014 at 6:00 AMApr 5, 2014 at 8:16 AM

After three years of planning, organizing, fundraising and renovations, the Spire Center for Performing Arts is ready for the public and will host a Community Open House 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and a Gala Variety Show 7:30 p.m. April 11.

By Jody FeinbergThe Patriot Ledger

Great acoustics attract performers, and the new Spire Center for Performing Arts recently received a thumbs up from nationally known baritone Andrew Garland who has sung in Carnegie Hall and other world-class venues.

“When Andy came in and tried out the space, he was amazed at the acoustics,” said Bob Hollis, president of the non-profit organization which spearheaded the Plymouth center. “From the outside, the building doesn’t look like much, but when you get inside, it’s a hidden gem. It’s going to be a great place for performers and audiences.”

After three years of planning, organizing, fundraising and renovations, the Spire Center for Performing Arts is ready for the public and will host a Community Open House 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and a Gala Variety Show 7:30 p.m. April 11.

“We’ve been working at it a long time and I’m very, very excited,” said Hollis, the former president of Plymouth Community Theatre and owner of Hollis Insurance. “I’ve been amazed at the community support and the interest of performers.”

Built as a Methodist church in 1880 and then used as a temple community center, The Spire already has booked a diverse line-up of folk, pop, country, children’s and jazz musicians as well as shows produced by Plymouth Community Theatre and Bay Colony Shakespeare Company. Both intimate and atmospheric with colored glass windows, a soaring ceiling, and wooden pews, the 225-seat hall has a new stage, sound and lighting systems.

“We want to support regional musicians, but also bring in national acts and give them an experience they can’t get in a big concert hall,” Hollis said. “You see it around the country that musicians like coming back to venues of this size. On the South Shore, we don’t have a performing arts center like this.”

A short walk from Plymouth Rock on the corner of Brewster and Court streets, the center will become a destination, easily spotted by its towering steeple, Hollis said.

“We called it The Spire because it’s a prominent landmark, and it has a double meaning – to inspire and aspire,” he said.

It’s creation shows what can happen when a community comes together around a vision. The town of Plymouth at 2012 town meeting purchased the building for $365,000 using Community Preservation Act funds and then allotted an additional $285,000 to install a sprinkler system, fire alarm and other systems to bring it up to code.

The Greater Plymouth Performing Arts Center, Inc. (GP-PAC), a non-profit group started by Hollis, manages the center and has a 99-year lease for $1 a year. It has raised $120,000 to build the stage, upgrade electrical and heating systems, add an access ramp and bar, and make other improvements. With future funds, it wants to renovate the steeple and upgrade the shingles after removing the aluminum siding.

“It was a lot of hard work to raise the money, but not a struggle,” Hollis said. “People have been very forthcoming and generous.”

In addition to providing space for the Plymouth Community Theatre, the building also is home to Seasound Audio & Telecom and a tai-chi school and eventually will house a performing arts school. Its lobby, now outfitted with a bar, will host comedy and open mic events.

Other upcoming highlights are: folk/pop duo The Sea The Sea on April 12, Celebrity Benefit Concert on May 16 with baritone Andrew Garland and pianist Warren Jones; and The Plymouth Rock Assurance Jazz Festival May 24-25 with Rebecca Parris, Amanda Carter, Johnny Souza Quintet and others, and an open jazz jam May 26. The Plymouth Community Theatre will perform “The Importance of Being Ernest” May 2-11.

Tickets for the Gala Variety Show and reception on April 11 are $20, and advance purchase is recommended. For information, go to www.spirecenter.org.

Jody Feinberg may be reached at jfeinberg@ledger.com or follow on Twitter @JodyF_Ledger.